Sustainable Development in Local Government: The need for parish council engagement to move past ‘symbolic politics’

There is little doubt that the idea of a sustainable development seems here to stay. The upcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (June) will once again discuss what SD means to the world as it takes as its primary focus  the institutional framework of sustainable development and a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication.  If you visit the conference website a counter indicates the number of days left to the conference with the slogan ‘days to the future we want’.  And it is exactly this sentiment that embodies the fundamental tensions within the idea of a sustainable development. This tension is highlighted in the simple question ‘the future that who wants?’

Sustainable development is a notoriously slippery term, it is difficult to define, and therefore it is difficult to implement. It has been accused of being a contradiction in term, an oxymoron and a term so fuzzy that it means anything to everyone and so useless as a guiding principle. 

With this said I am a strong supporter of the idea of sustainable development.  Whatever the outcome of Rio + 20, international event such as these raise awareness and reinforce a global discourse that highlight the continuing problems of diminishing and inequitable distribution of resources.  They demonstrate a level of commitment by world leaders to address these problems and motivate moral and ethical sentiment.  This is an ongoing academic and political debate which I will address during the course of the Rio Conference, however the focus here is the integration of sustainable development into local politics.

So regardless of the positive outcomes of global conferences the term remains contested and ill defined and it is  little wonder therefore  that national and local governments have difficulty in articulating the concept into effective frameworks and programmes aimed at addressing real world problems.  Furthermore, this lack of definition is compounded by the perceptions at the local level that sustainable development is a top down imposed agenda

It is perhaps the perception of sustainable development that it is a top down, imposed framework that makes it difficult to translate into the more local context.   In a time of austerity where local problems seem more acute polices imposed by the international community, the UN, EU, OECD etc seem far removed from the everyday lived experiences of those people in local communities.  It is exactly this communication barrier that needs to be overcome and addressed and this will be the front line of integrating the principles of sustainable development into the local policy framework.  This is important because as well as being a concept that has arisen from a global problamatique  the concept, properly articulated and developed encourages holistic policy development as well as concepts of equity and  inter generational equity.  An unfortunate side effect or even direct result of local governments need to legitimise their own policies and programmes through external pressure to integrate sustainable development means that the end result can be cosmetic and ineffectual.

With that in mind over the past decade national, sub national  and local government have driven forward significantly to embed sustainable development into their practices.  However, a review of policies and programmes from an international basis suggests that policies based on sustainable development are more symbolic with a high level of political currency  but little real world impact.  Whilst there has been significant progress, for example with programmes drawing on Local Agenda 21, there is still a lack of salience at the community level

With the above rather gloomy assessment in mind the UK has one of the worlds most well developed sustainable development strategies and the challenge of  devolution and the achievement of a Big Society in whatever form that may take will depend very much on its effective transmission and integration with local government. 

The recent  Localism Act  will also stimulate discussion on what sustainable development actually means to local communities.  A very visible example of this has been the debates that have surrounded the changes in the National Planning Policy Framework. The framework document uses the term sustainable development over 50 times and emphasises the need for a ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’. The final document has now been more broadly accepted but only time will tell the impact this will have on the built environment over the coming years.

There are a number of other areas which may be directly applied to sustainable development governance at the local level, but the crux of this discussion is how we overcome the idea of a symbolic politics, how we get past policies that only pay lip service to creating a sustainable development when infact they are continuing along the same ‘business as usual’ lines.  To this end I focus on the importance of one area to which I am able to bring my own insights from extensive research over the past few years. This is the devolution of power to town and parish councils which has been made explicit in a number of government documents. There are over 10000 local councils in England and they represent the closest level of government to the community. Forces are in motion to increase the power of parish councils in order to form direct community engagement and consultation with community members on the future of their local environments.  The Open Services White Paper (2011) and the recent review of this paper (March 2012) emphasise the importance that town and parish councils play within their local communities.

The advantage of empowering the town and parish level of local government is the visibility of the outputs of programmes developed. At this level the idea of a symbolic politics with regard to sustainable development is dispelled because of the immediate and direct impact of the policies developed. My  research in Devon and Cornwall adds weight to this assertion.  The research, amongst other things explored what sustainable development meant to members of town and parish councils and what they say as the best way of integrating this concept into their local communities.  There was support for the principles of the concept, an integrated approach including environmental, social and economic factors, ideas of equity and community.  As expected however, there was confusion over how to translate these ideals into real outputs, as well as frustration with principal authorities and national government at opaque and mixed messages with convoluted or non existent lines of communication. As such, there is  an urgent need to provide guidance and support for sustainable development to this level of government.  For example, the research indicated that in Devon and Cornwall  principal authorities needed to be more considerate of local councils needs and there was an overall perceived lack of support.  With this in mind there was an overwhelming response that town and parish councils wanted to work in partnership with their  principle authorities in order to improve the quality of communities.

If handled effectively with the correct guidance and support with an appreciation of diversity there is a real opportunity to use  sustainable development as a guiding principle, and implemented at the local community level move past the idea of symbolic politics for real and positive change

There does of course need to be a continued analysis of the policy context for sustainable development.  In other words the framing of the policy what is the structural and societal context.  The  real danger is that without the analysis of the context of the policy and the lines of communication particularly between  the principal authority and the community level there will be continued confusion a lack of coherence and fractured and disjointed policies and programmes that do not address community issues.  There is a real opportunity to make sustainable development work using the parish council as a conduit through which local communities can respond to the challenges and risks of the 21^st century

This work is ongoing and will be published over the course of this year and next.  A number of interim reports can be downloaded from the following links

Promoting Sustainable Communities

Promoting Sustainable Communities in Devon and Cornwall: Education and Training

Understanding Town and Parish Council Needs for a Sustainable Devon

A revised version of this article will appear in the forthcoming edition of Public Service Review: Local Government and the Regions

Sustainable Development and the Surfing Industry

More on Sustainabesurf.org who have been covered in Forbes -

Forbes cover sustainablesurfs excellent work

Sustainable Development and Surfing: Looking back will help us move foward

It is great to see that sutainablesurf.org continues to go from strength to strength. They announced yesterday that they are now officially partnered with the Association of Surfing Professionals for the North American 2012 season to provide sustainability advice for all ASP events.  This is a huge step forward for the surfing industry which recognises the importance of integrating sustainability into their everyday operations and especially the big events which have, as with any large event (have a look at my post on the Olympics), have an impact on the local infrastructure.  Using a sustainable development perspective this includes the economic, environmental and social dimensions. The  US surfing industry is now leading the way, and so they should be.  I don't have the latest figures to hand, mainly because you have to pay for them but in 2006 the surf industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) estimated the industry in the US was worth $7.48 Billion which was an increase of 14.5 per cent from 2004.  As soon as i find some free updated figures i'll post them.   Don't forget that this figure represents apparel only, so things that are made and sold.  The cost in real terms is significantly higher as the invisible costs or to use economic jargon negative externalities are exponentially higher.  The link below to an article in the New York Times looks at some of these impacts:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/business/energy-environment/19SURF.html

It is this unseen cost that a sustainable development perspective brings into the light by considering the full system impact, or at least as much of the system as it is possible to understand.  Science is not an exact science!   So initiatives such as sustainable surf and the establishment of the Centre for Surf research at San Diego State University recognise the importance of understanding the overall impacts of surfing


Taking a lead from this it is time  to take these initiatives back over the pond and integrate them in to the British surfing industry and cultural consciousness of surfers.  Whilst some moves are being made they are slow and fragmented.  Now is the time to give this agenda a very big kick up the arse, clearly the surfing industry is ready to adopt sustainability and global and local pressures are building as sustainable development becomes an increasingly prominent term, if somewhat fuzzily defined.   Rio + 20 in June will give the term further exposure.  I could go on about this but i won't for the sanity of all involved.

British surfing in general has had a lot of exposure in the last few days with the opening of the Museum of British Surfing today (06/04/12).  The lead up to this has attracted  national media attention with surfing being dubbed the  'The sport of Kings'.  The Guardian, The Metro and The Mirror have run stories, not to mention last nights Channel Four news item












Looking back is important, it provides an essential context and language for all those involved in surfing in the UK, something perhaps we haven't really had in the past.  Let's use this  collective identity to move forward and do what we can now for our future generations.  I won't preach, check out the press release below.


HUNTINGTON BEACH, California/USA (Thursday, April 5, 2012) – ASP North America and Sustainable Surf, a non-profit environmental organization focused on the surfing industry, are proud to announce their partnership for the 2012 season, offering green guidelines for all ASP North America events.


ASP North America and Sustainable Surf’s goal is to provide a useful framework for looking at event operations that can help reduce the environmental impacts of all contests, regardless of size and budget, and that will provide a common platform for ensuring greener events this year.
“This is a big step forward for us at ASP North America and we’re really excited about the opportunity to offer sustainability guidelines to our events to help decrease our impact on the environment,” Meg Bernardo, ASP North America Executive Manager said. “The ASP feels it’s a necessary step to look after our ocean and having Sustainable Surf on our side is a great asset to our events. We’re looking forward to working with them throughout the 2012 season, to help provide guidance directly to events that want it.”


Sustainable Surf’s success in providing guidelines and consulting services for events has already proven to be effective, as they played an integral role in greening the 2011 Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco, which has been referred to as the greenest ASP surfing contest in history. Entering 2012 all event sponsors will have the option to capitalize on Sustainable Surf’s expertise in a tailor-made format for each contest.


“We are proud to be partnering with ASP-North America to provide a comprehensive, yet adaptable set of guidelines, that focus on the five major categories that most contribute to the footprint of any event,” Michael Stewart, Co-Founder of Sustainable Surf, said. “Sustainable Surf will also offer strategy and evaluation services to the events themselves, to help showcase their success stories in implementing the new guidelines at whatever level possible.”
Darren Brilhart, owner of Brillo Productions and longtime producer of major ASP North America events, worked closely with Sustainable Surf at the Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco and is pleased to have their guidance in making more environmentally conscious decisions for future events.


“It was a great experience and eye opener working with Sustainable Surf at last year’s Rip Curl Pro Search Somewhere in San Francisco,” Brilhart said. “They are very thorough on what they do and it blew me away.”


Several ASP North America events have already taken the initial steps in the greening of their events, including the use of bio-diesel fuel for power, recycled materials for branding and heavily reducing the use of plastic water bottles. Kevin Whilden, Sustainable Surf Co-founder, thinks this partnership is a win-win for the entire surfing industry and feels Sustainable Surf’s expertise will allow events to further reduce the overall environmental impact.
“Many brands have already shown real initiative by taking some great steps towards the greening of their events, and the comprehensive framework of the new ASP North America’s green guidelines will help them to track, manage and communicate all their efforts,” Whilden said. “These best practices can be cost effective and easy to implement, and will further set the surfing industry on a leadership path that is consistent with surfing’s global image as an eco-friendly lifestyle.”
The next stop on the 2012 ASP North America season is the ASP PRIME Nike Lowers Pro, which is held at Lower Trestles from May 1 through 5, 2012.
(Source:  http://sustainablesurf.org/2012/04/asp-north-america-partners-with-sustainable-surf/)